


I'm getting out, i'm getting free

by Garden_of_gay



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Apocalypse averted, Eudora Patch is Alive, F/M, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, M/M, Not Beta Read, Referenced Drug Use, Referenced Homelessness, Vietnam War, because I said so, eudora lives, he still goes to dave, i love eudora, i still dont know how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-14 14:31:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18950038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Garden_of_gay/pseuds/Garden_of_gay
Summary: Eudora Patch lives, all thanks to the words "there's two".canon divergence in the motel but Klaus still goes to Vietnam.I loved our limited time with Eudora and i will die mad about it.





	1. "there's Two"

**Author's Note:**

> i KNOW this has been done before but i wanted my own spin on it and it was super fun to write so enjoy :)  
> Klaus? tired.  
> Eudora? alive.  
> Dave? awaiting.  
> hotel? trivago. 
> 
> Title from the song Own Worst Enemy by YONAKA

Eudora Patch has no idea what she’s doing. Or why. Well, she does know. Like most things always seem to lead back to, it’s because of Diego.

“why don’t you do things my way for once”

She’s taking Diego’s advice and following in his vigilante footsteps. She may not be in love with him anymore, but she can’t help still having a soft spot for Diego. Besides, his mother is dead, his brother is missing, and Eudora still had no clue what to do about those psychos running around in kids masks.

So here she is at the motel contemplating whether she should wait for Diego. She pushes her sleeve aside to glance at her watch. If he isn’t here now, will he ever be? She looks through the office door one last time. Still no signs of him, and his brother could be running out of time. 

“Screw it,” she riles herself and makes her way down the poorly lit motel corridor, cautious and quiet, like the professional she is. Just as she makes her way past yet another door, a suspicious slamming sound can be heard. Could this be Diego’s brother? And if the psychos are there he could be in danger. Eudora follows protocol, she pulls out her gun, placing her other hand tenderly on the door handle. Just then, she hears another small sound of footsteps behind her. Ever cautious, she turns only to see the cleaner. Staff, she thinks. Well, a key card would be a lot easier and stealthy than bursting through the place. Still, the psychos could be in there, listening, so she instead signals for the card then turns back, reading herself to enter.

When the door beeps, now unlocked, Eudora did not expect to see just inside the dark room an man, approximately 30, bloody and sweaty with tape over his mouth and wrists bound to the arms of the chair he sits in. She looks to the table in front of him and realises he must have been banging his head against it in desperation. jesus, what did they do to you? She wonders. No time for that now, her first priority is getting him safely out of there. No one else in the room doesn’t mean the psychos aren’t still here, so she whispers as she says “are you Diego’s brother?”

“yeah” comes his reply, muffled against the tape, which is accompanied by a big, enthusiastic nod of sheer relief. 

“I’m Detective Patch,” she informs. 

The man’s eyes go wide, he jerks his head back in the direction of the bathroom. The psychos. Eudora nods in understanding, eyes observing that direction as she takes out a knife, cutting the tape from the man’s wrists. He shakes his wrists in pain before peeling off the tape from his mouth.  
“there’s two,” he wheezes. 

So, both of them are here. At that moment, the bathroom door slowly creaks ajar, a soft yellow glow of the light shining out into the room. Eudora redraws her gun, moving the man out of the way before firing.

“police! Drop the gun or you’re going down!”

She turns her head swiftly to the left to see Diego’s brother crawling towards the vent, long black coat in tow. Good, at least he’ll get out.

A man’s careful exclamation of “don’t shoot! I’m comin’ out” comes from the bathroom, followed by a gun being flung into the room. 

A large bearded man in a suit slowly slides out into sight. Well, that was reasonably easy. But then, Eudora finds herself with a tingling feeling that something is wrong. Of course. She swings round just in time to see the woman before she has the change to shoot, Diego’s brother’s words, ‘there’s two’ at the forefront of Eudora’s mind. 

“drop the weapon!” she yells.

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With both the now unmasked psychos handcuffed by officers on the scene, it occurs to Eudora that she lost sight of Diego’s brother. Shit. As she starts heading down and towards her car, she spots a figure slowly limping away from the motel on bare feet. Oh. There he is. 

“hey!” she shouts across the car park.

He stops and turns to face her as she gestures for him to approach. When he approaches, he someone looks worse in the glow of the street lights, blood still drying on his temple and chest. He glances around like a skittish cat, bulky black briefcase clutched in his arms. The black coat from earlier now hangs loosely on his frame, but Eudora doesn’t miss his slight shaking, from either the cold night air, or pain and strain, she doesn’t know. What now?

“hey um. Want me to take you to the hospital?”

The man looks up suddenly, vigorously shaking his head. He then seems to hiss at the air next to him, and she just catches him mutter “too sober” under his breath. Okay, no hospital, but he clearly still needs some medical attention. Luckily for Eudora, she’s known Diego in all his vigilante glory for years.

“why don’t you come back to my place? Look, it’s late and I have a first aid kit at home. I can give Diego a bell, too,” she bargains, hoping he agrees. 

Again, he turns to the empty space to his right, huffing before shrugging his shoulders and confirming with a quick “sure.”

“great, come on,” she murmured, moving to open the passenger side door for him.

“oh, danke!” he exclaimed, clambering into the seat. German? Huh, this should be interesting.

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“so urgh, I didn’t catch your name,” Eudora prompts as the car steadily makes its way down the road. 

“Klaus. I’m Diego’s favourite brother, can’t believe he hasn’t mentioned me, the prick,” explains Klaus.

German name, how fitting. Eudora was never much into The Umbrella Academy. Sure, she’d heard of them like every kid their age, however she firmly believed kids her age shouldn’t be running ‘round playing law enforcement. Like her dad, she always wanted to join the force the proper way. This, then, is why she finds her brain for which one Klaus is. They all have such strange powers, after all. 

Klaus’ caution catches her off guard as he inquires “so, did Diego send you on a where’s wally junkie addition, or is this a happy coincidence?” 

Of course Diego wanted to find him, they have been distant these past years, but Eudora can’t be fooled, its clear as day how deeply he cares about his family. 

“Of course I’m here because of Diego. He told be about the attack on your house and that his brother was missing. The guys in the mask were there looking for you, right?” she questions expecting conformation. 

Klaus lets out a light yet sad laugh, looking in the mirror at the back seats. “hear that, Ben? Ha!”

Ben… the name seems familiar to Eudora; except she can’t quite pin it. It doesn’t matter what name it is, what’s most significant to her is that he appears to be talking to someone who isn’t there. He may have a concussion, so now she wonders if she should have insisted on the hospital. Or, he called himself a junkie didn’t he? God does she hope this isn’t a permanent affect of narcotics. Without a good enough response that for certain won’t cause offense, she awaits some elaboration. 

“They certainly weren’t looking for me, detective. I was simply a fun little commiseration prize for them. They, they were after our brother Five. Ha! I bet none of them even noticed me gone,” he glances again at the mirror, then back at her, “sorry for troubling you, you found that wrong brother.”

What may seem like a usual explanation didn’t settle well with Eudora. Did he really believe his siblings thought that little of him? Surely the others only didn’t notice because they thought he was same somewhere else. Right?

“oh. Well you’re still their brother and you were in danger. Good thing I came anyway. When we get back, I can tell Diego you’re safe. I’m sure he’ll be relieved.” Eudora wondered if she were more comforting herself. She may think she knows Diego, but who’s to say what his relationships with his siblings is like? What reason did they have to not see each other in years?

“yeah, you don’t… have to, you know? Might as well get started on looking for the next place to sleep anyways,” he offers, slightly defeated and as though this is business as usual.

This, Eudora finds even more concerning, so she sees no harm is prompting for more “you got nowhere outside your family’s house?”

“nah. Ha, you think I could hold down a stable job? And it’s not like I have the best track record with people. Longest I’ve ever been off the streets and out of rehab with someone? 3 weeks. He wasn’t vey nice, but at least he made a fantastic osso buco”, Klaus smiles softly to himself, despite most of what he just said being a major red flag to Eudora, having seen a lot of everything in her time as a cop. It also leaves her immeasurably sad. She knew of course they didn’t have the nicest of childhoods or the nicest of fathers, but the others seem to be doing okay for themselves. Diego at least has a small job and a place to sleep, and she knew of Allison’s stardom. Though, from the sound of it, despite 6 siblings Klaus had nothing safe or steady, even in people. So perhaps, this ‘Ben’ is a manifestation of his loneliness? 

So, as they pull up to her house, Eudora wonders if offering to let Klaus stay the night is necessary. 

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She leaves Klaus situated on her sofa as she goes off to find the clothes she knows for sure she has of Diego’s. she picks him out a pair of trousers and dark jumper from the back of a draw, probably the most regular, non-leather items Diego owns, makes a stop at the bathroom for the first aid kit, and as she quietly shuffles down the hall towards the living room, she stops in her tracks when she hears Klaus’ voice.

“I fucking told you, Ben. None of them noticed.” A pause before he continues “She knows Diego, sure, but we don’t want to intrude on his lady friend now do we?”

Having a full-blown conversation with the air is certainly not normal, yet Eudora finds herself not wanting to intrude his one-sided conversation. She makes sure to louden her steps as she finally enters to foreworn him of her presence. 

“oh, hello there. Ah, clothes!” she hands them over and he eagerly accepts. He holds them close and softly murmurs “clean.”

For Diego’s brother, they really do seem to be in a different world from each other. 

She knells in from of Klaus and opens the first aid kit. He instantly objects, “ah, no, you really don’t have to-“

No, she’s not letting him go that easy. “at least let me clean the blood off, okay?”

He releases a long sigh, closes his eyes and nods. Half way through wiping away the blood on his chest, he starts to speak, most likely a bi product of the awkward uncertainty of the situation and clear nervous energy still within him, Eudora would guess, “I can see why he likes you. You’re like, a mum, but super badass. Can you please on behalf of all of us tell him to quit it with that leather harness? Now, I’m all for leather, but that tactical knife holder is a crime against fashion. besides, fashion has consequences, it takes hard work to look as effortlessly fabulous as I do all the time-”

Now that the adrenaline of the get away seems to have dissipated, Eudora thinks he must be coming into himself. Right. He’s clearly a talker, then. That reminds her however. Diego. She really should call him. Eudora clicks the first aid case closed and points him to the clothes next to him. 

“you can put those on, I’ll call your brother.”

“Oh, danke” he responds, and just as she’s turning to leave for the phone, Eudora sees him reach and fiddle with that big suitcase. She really should take that in to the station tomorrow is her lingering thought before finally turning her back on him. 

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“Perfect, you found Five, I found Klaus. Look he’s probably had a long night so I don’t think he’ll want to sleep on a strangers sofa,” she ties up on the phone.  
Diego responds as expected, “yeah, yeah, I’ll come get him. We’re at mine anyway.”

“thank you. See you soon,” she hangs up without bothering to wait for conformation. Eudora knows he’s coming. 

She did not expect that when she re-entered her dimly lit living living room to only find some cold and folded clothes on her sofa. No Klaus, no briefcase. Its then, as she reasonably contemplates what do, that she remembers. Ben. That’s their brother, right? The dead one.


	2. Nadir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> back by popular demand (legit two people but shout out to y'all), I've decided to go forward with this! 
> 
> Eudora heads out with Diego to get information out of Five, and when she returns home in the morning, there awaits a surprise in the form of a person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might just become a full blown apocalypse averted au! Still from the pov of Eudora, ofc.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading! :)

So, here’s what Eudora knows: her ex-boyfriend’s brother who can talk to the dead was kidnapped, tortured, came back to hers, and now he’s disappeared again. Without clothes.

This is not how she saw her Tuesday going when she woke up this morning. She can see why he’d leave; he said himself he didn’t want to impose. Besides, he’s probably gotten used to being alone out there for years. She just wished Klaus knew he didn’t have to be alone anymore. Did he even realise Diego was coming to get him? 

He’ll already be on his way, so now Eudora just has to figure out how to break the news when he arrives. She goes to pick up the first aid kit and takes it back to the bathroom, at which point she can just hear the sound of a knock at her door. Sure enough, when she opens it, Diego swiftly makes his way into the house. Eudora doesn’t miss thee look of concern on his features, eyebrows knitted slightly together. 

“where is he?” he demands.

Eudora moves before him, blocking his view of the bare sofa as she informs “yeah about that. He isn’t here anymore, Diego.”

“what do you mean he isn’t here?” Diego inquires. 

“I left the room to call you and when I return, nada. No Klaus in sight. Is that common for him?” she wonders aloud. 

“unfortunately,” he sighs, “look, Klaus is Klaus. He’s always gone off somewhere since we were teenagers. He’ll be fine.”

“you’re sure about that? He was still just in a towel and coat.”

“well, Eudora-“ he begins.

“Patch,” she corrects.

He continues “patch-“ before looking around her, seeing his clothes on the sofa, “are those mine?”

“He had to wear something,” she explains. 

“right, well, thank you so much for getting him out of there at least. Sure he’ll turn up eventually. I should get back to Five,” 

“wait, Diego, isn’t he the one the psychos were after? I gotta know what the hell was going on. The bullet casings? The prints? It’s a police matter still.”

“so?” he prompts.

“so, I’m coming with you,” Eudora confirms. 

Diego sighs but heads back to the door, “alright. Already a crazy night, let’s go.”

As they make their way to his car, Eudora just catches him mutter “goddamn it, Klaus.”

For a man who thinks he’s so hard, it really is obvious to her how much he cares.

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When they reach Diego’s place, Eudora did not expect the brother with a number for a name to be a kid. A kid, like the possible witness at Griddy’s. slowly but surely, she thinks, this is all coming together.

“oh good, you’re awake. Care to tell us what the fuck is going on?” Diego pondered. 

The 13-year-old, five, Eudora reminds herself, observes her with eyes squinted in only mild curiosity, “and who’s this?”

She’s not the most fond of his tone as she states, “police,” flashing him her badge. 

This only seems to increase his scepticism. Just as he opens his mouth, likely to retort a snide comment, Diego slips in a stern “Five. I trust her. She stays.”

It really is a shame things didn’t work out. She knows Diego has always meant well, even while vigilante-ing, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t miss his company.  
Five sighs, defeated as he resumes whatever he was saying to the absolute unit of a man stood beside the bed. Another brother, she infers. What, she wonders, could his super power possibly be? Those arms are almost the width of her torso. 

“okay detective, a little advice, those people are dangerous so you-“

“Arrested them,” she states, passively, before Five can finish.

“what?” he stammers.

“I already arrested them. Done. In police custody. Now, are you going to tell me why they were after you?” The long night gets longer, assesses Eudora.

“huh. Well for now that’s one less problem to worry about.” He mumbles, mostly to himself.

The huge man impatiently demands “who are they Five?”

Eudora lets herself down into a chair as Diego pushes himself forward from the wall he was leaning on, both intently listening.  
It’s then, she notices, a white round spherical shaped object clutched in Five’s hand. Was that… an eye?

“they work… worked… for my former employer. A woman called The Handler. She works for an organisation known as The Commission. They see it to that the timeline stays on track.”

Eudora looks back at Diego, who shrugs. The timeline? What the hell had she gotten herself into.

“I left so I could stop the apocalypse. But it’s supposed to happen, apparently. So, I’m a threat to them now,” he concludes.

“So… the apocalypse? How do you know?” Eudora was yet to recall Five’s powers, and with Diego’s so low-key, she feels a fish out of water in all of this. 

The giant, however, shows little surprise, so she must assume this supernatural conspiracy theorist type stuff has a degree of normality in their clearly dysfunctional family. 

A scowl forms on Five’s face as he snarls through gritted teeth, “I was in the apocalypse for 45 years, trust me, it’s coming; And soon.”

Diego steps forward, curious, “so what are we gunna do about?”

“I have an idea, but it may be insane. I need to find the Handler,” Five responds with such certainty before completely vanishing in a flash of blue light. 

“what the hell-“ is her natural reaction. So that’s his power. What the hell was that all about? Is the apocalypse really coming? Could do anything to help stop it? Eudora didn’t quite feel prepared to die just yet. With all this new information being thrust at her at once, she felt overwhelmed with exhaustion. God, does she hope she’ll wake up in the morning and this will be nothing but a fading dream. 

Just as she ways her options for the night, Diego speaks up, addressing his only remaining brother, “Luther, go back to the academy, I’ll be there in the morning.”

Ah, Luther. That's his name. He looks to where Five was just sat, on Diego’s bed, then back to give Diego a curt nod, before awkwardly shuffling out. 

Eudora releases a long sign lowers her head into her hands.

“you, uh, you can stay till morning if you like. Get some rest,” Diego offers softly.

Eudora clears her throat, “thank you,” she returns, genuinely grateful. 

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Late the next morning, Diego drops Eudora off at her house before he joins his remaining siblings at the Academy. She woke up, unsurprisingly, at Diego’s, and it only took a matter of seconds to recall the night’s chaotic events. Not a dream, then. Luckily for Eudora, she’s off work today, and looks forward to a long day of relaxing until she later meets with Diego for possible Five/apocalypse updates. She’s involved now, so she might as well keep up. General rule starting now: think of nothing as impossible.

Eudora releases what is likely the hundredth sigh of the past 24 hours as she inserts the key into the lock, turning. 

When she hears the lock click and pushes the door open, she does not expect the sight before her in the living room.

There, in the middle of her floor, lies a man, wailing, curled in on himself, back facing her, arms wrapped securely around his torso. He wears old fashioned deep green army gear, looking as authentic as they could be. His sobs resemble that of a wounded animal, and as Eudora slowly and cautiously creeps forward, she sees the bright red of blood coating his trembling hands. A foot or so away from the man is a beat up, unsalvageable briefcase, stained with crimson. Isn’t that the case that…

He lets out a last howl of pure agony, then descends into a quieter whimpering. Eudora moves around his body, heart heavy, and crouches down to his level, and sure enough, she recognises him instantly. Klaus. How did he…

No, that’s not the priority right now, questions later. Klaus lets out some deep stuttering breaths, an abundance of fresh tears soaking his face. What possibly could have happened? He’s only been gone a couple hours. What, good god, could have happened to leave him this shattered. such a mess. This much of a potent emotional outburst must be for worthy reason. 

“hey,” Eudora softly whispers, her own voice surprising her with its gentleness and strain. She tenderly places a hand on his shoulder. God, the blood. Still damp and warm, his hands thick with it, but it still begins to stain all down his arms, a bit on his chest. Thank god, he doesn’t appear severely injured himself. But, she thinks, someone was. Someone he cares about. 

After a couple of minutes of Eudora rubbing circles into his shoulder, shushing him, Klaus’ breathing evens out, his body hesitantly uncurling. He opens is bagged, blood shot eyes and looks up into Eudora’s eyes. He sits up, body shaking a little as he looks around, recognition crossing his features as he realises where he is. Nothing could have prepared Eudora for the raw, fragile emotion in his voice and he softly repeats “sorry, I’m so sorry, sorry, i-“

Eudora interrupts him with a careful “hey, no, it’s okay. You’re alright now. How… how bout we get you cleaned up, ay?”

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Eudora kneels on the hardwood floor, attempting to wipe off the spots of blood left by Klaus. The light rumble of her shower can be heard from the bathroom, as Klaus scrubs away the blood and dirt caked on his skin. She casted aside the briefcase, evaluating she might as well just throw it out as opposed to turning it in to evidence.

She barely knows the man, having just met him. She knows he sees the dead, she knows he’s a homeless drug addict, and that’s all; he’s just Diego’s brothers. But still, she’s unexpectedly effected by seeing him that broken. She’s seen plenty of outward emotion in her line of work, crying, screaming, shouting, but she’s never seen such an intense overtake of someone’s being. He radiated so much pain that it all spilled out of him, tainting the atmosphere, which is now heavy with sorrow and despair. 

Oh, she thought. I should definitely call Diego. Her shock and instinctual reaction made her momentarily forget. She also deems it inappropriate for now to bombard Klaus with questions. 

Eudora hears the distinctive click of the door open. She didn’t even notice the shower stop. He stands and turns to see Klaus at the living room entrance. 

“oh, hey,” she says with lack of a better greeting. 

In response, Klaus swiftly, almost naturally, lifts his right hand, displaying the tattooed ‘HELLO’ on his palm. He looks significantly better without the blood and dirt, but there’s no mistaking the fragile strain of his face, eyes still puffy and tired. Now, he wears Diego’s trousers from earlier (Diego never did take them back), however over a plain t-shirt he’s opted to put his sleeveless military jacket back on. Eudora also observes a chain around his neck, its attachment concealed, clutched in Klaus’ left hand like raft in the ocean. 

“I should… go. I’ve troubled you too much already,” he states, defeatedly. 

“it’s the least I could do. I can drive you home, if you’d like. I know most of your siblings are there,” she offers in return.

He doesn’t speak, just nods slightly, lips drawn into a slight frown. Even after being tortured he had an energy to him, all soft laughs and fruitful words, but now it’s as though his character has ebbed away, like a dying rose of fading colour, drooping. 

Then, once they’re on the road and making their way to the Umbrella Academy, Klaus has his arms across his lap, holding each elbow. He stares ahead blankly, barely present. Eudora is more than concerned, which is when she looks and sees the end of the chain strung around his neck. Dog tags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some time on my hands rn so updates can be expected reasonably regularly. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> Again, kudos, comments etc much appreciated.
> 
> -Astrid


	3. I crawled back to the life that I said I wouldn't live in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eudora and Klaus have a chat in the car. They arrive at the academy, they all talk apocalypse, two new faces the join the mix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, not much happens in this one, next chapter will be more eventful. 
> 
> Chapter title from the song Hallucinogenics by Matt Maeson.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Eudora didn’t expect Klaus to start talking anytime soon. He’s just been uncontrollably sobbing on the floor not long ago. She looked at him as he sat still as stone. Sometimes, when responding to calls, she’s seen first-hand the immediate trauma of victims and witnesses. Heart-breaking as it is, you must do your job, then move on. But this is Diego’s brother, and whatever just happened to him, he needs support right now, and she doesn’t get the sense he’s the kind to depend on people. 

Yet, as he stared aimlessly out the car window, after a couple of minutes, he says, barely audibly, “hey, what happened to that case? The uh, the one I took.” His voice is still tired, overworked.

“oh, I was gunna throw it out, its completely battered,” before she can stop, Eudora’s curiosity gets the better of her as she wonders “was there anything in it?”

Klaus lets a weak breathy laugh, and she can’t imagine what’s funny in all this. “oh boy, ha! Would you believe me if I said it took me through time? Though, I’d say I already have been through time more than once, heh, speed, LSD, Ketamine, you name it; the joys of hallucinogens,” he hums to himself, the weak smirk leaving his face, “But like, actual time travel, you know? Those psychos were after Five after all, that slippery time travelling bastard.”

Anything’s possible at this point, Eudora has to firmly remind herself. She did see someone vanish in a flash of blue light just hours ago. 

“So what, you, time travelled? Where? Or when?” she prompted.

For the first time on the ride, Klaus sluggishly rolls his head over his shoulder, head against the seat rest as he looked at her with nebulous eyes.

She glances at him, then carefully let her eyes back on the road. The vest and dog tags stand out all the more now, a flame in a sea of darkness. They look authentic; Would it be too outlandish that they are?

So, baited like a fish she encourages, “what war?” part of her wishes her guess to be wrong.

He briefly looks down at himself, “huh. Smart lady. Ever seen Apocalypse Now?”, he offers, accompanied by a delicate chuckle. That’s one way to tell it. 

She wasn’t much of a film fanatic, but her father had seen just about every war film under the sun. Vietnam? Jesus. Eudora didn’t know much about it, but a war is a war. So, he dropped into the Vietnam war any time from the 50s to 70s in only a bloody towel. God, how does he seem to already be bouncing back from this? Unless it’s all a façade; For all she knows, Klaus may be a master of distraction.

“and you were out there fighting for a couple hours? That’s rough,” Eudora comments.

Again, Klaus lets out a laugh, louder and sharper this time, “oh no, my dear, I was there 10 months, right in the shit of it.”

“10 months? Then how are you back here?” she already knows this will likely be a bitch to understand.

He scoffs, “I don’t know. Time travel. It’s a son of a bitch. I guess that’s how Five got stuck.” 

Almost a year fighting a war. She can’t rule out PTSD as a possible aftermath. The Vietnam flashbacks stereotype isn’t called that for nothing. 

But surely, to be able to return, he would’ve had the case the whole time. Did he not know how it worked? Or was there something else keeping him? Eudora barely knows Klaus, but with all the wild events occurring lately she feels a tender curiosity to understand him and his world. It also gives her a greater understanding of Diego, of what kind of situations he was likely in growing up, what lunacy. 

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Klaus leads Eudora up to the front door, and man is this place big. The heavy wooden door releases a deep croak as he pushes it open. Stepping over the threshold, Eudora freezes up to a halt, looking up and around to take in the house’s beautiful and vintage interior. It’s hard to imagine any child growing up within these walls. It’s like entering a museum, or one of those ancient manor houses you can get a tour of. Well, she reminds herself, Hargreeves was an eccentric billionaire even if he was a terrible father.

She comes back to herself to see Klaus breeze through an entry way. From within, she can hear the rumble of layered voice, which seem to be in a heated discussion. And Eudora cautiously approaches, she can distinguish the voices.

Luther’s voice booms first after the voices fade out upon Klaus’ arrival, “Klaus, where the hell have you been?”

“I was-“ Klaus defends weakly.

“there is a serious issue here and you were out getting high?” Luther interrupts accusatorily, without even taking a breath to hear him out. Hmm. Eudora can already intuit why Diego seems to loathe this brother. 

“Luther-“ Diego cuts in, ever on the offense. 

“I’m sober, asshole!” Klaus blurts.

The other’s fall into a tense silence, and Eudora can only imagine their scepticism. From what she can gather, none of them think to highly of their medium brother. She’s brought in addicts many times, most with no remaining family ties to call for bail; those who were fortunate enough to have someone, only become disenchanted when they arrive, their scowls and scornful words and hesitant mannerisms planting red flags in the crumbling ground of their loved one, their disappointment radiating from them. No one trusts a junkie. 

Although, this also means she’s picked up some subtleties, street smarts, if you will, on the effects of narcotics. Now that she reflects, she can do nothing but believe Klaus speaks the truth. He’s not intoxicated.

Just as Eudora enters the room, Klaus turns to face Diego, “oh, your Detective’s here.”

His back is to her, so how’d he… 

The room is much similar to the entryway, a group them stood and sat to the right of the room, Luther, Diego, wow, the movie star Allison Hargreeves, and now Klaus. An old bar is back against the wall, and just ahead of Eudora hangs an oil painting of Five, staring down at her menacingly. 

Diego whips round to see her, “Eudora, what are you-“

“Klaus came back, so here I am. Any news from Five?” its then, she realises, she didn’t correct him to Patch. 

“I’m sorry, who are you exactly?” Allison inquires, cautiously but not rudely. 

“Detective Eudora Patch, I was on the case of the masked killers. The one’s that attacked your house,” she politely informs.

“oh, well-“ Allison uncertainly begins.

Eudora reassures “don’t worry, I’m off duty.” 

Luther and Diego look between them and Klaus gradually shuffles his was across the room, then lowering himself onto the sturdy sofa, releasing a long sigh as he does so.   
Diego glances at him, worry on his features, but he turns to look at Eudora, “Five hasn’t made a reappearance. But Luther here was about to so kindly tell us about the apocalypse.”  
Luther gawps like a fish, looking sternly at Diego before not at all discretely asking, “should she be here?”

“look, I’ve had a crazy 24 hours and I don’t quite feel like dying helplessly in an apocalypse I know is coming,” she deadpans him, standing her ground.

The corner of Diego’s mouth is pulled up into a smirk. He shrugs with faux helplessness as he expresses with finality “you heard the lady.”

Eudora also catches Allison’s head bow down slightly, a small smile of her own forming. 

“well, Five said we all… fought together to stop whoever’s responsible. So anyways I’m thinking, we go through dad’s research-“ Luther, begins, vague as is humanly possible. 

“hold on, hold on,” Diego stops him in unison with Klaus’ repetition of:  
“wait a tick, wait a tick, wait a tick. What actually happened the first time around?” he continues. 

“no point in hiding anything,” Eudora adds. 

He seems to consider this, clearing his throat and slowly raising his coffee cup to his lips. He mumbles something inaudibly before sipping. Allison raises her eyebrows, gesturing to him as she encourages “what was that?”

Luther coughs, confirming “I said, uh, we died” he states matter-of-factly. 

4444444444444444444444444444444

Once they’ve all had time to digest this, Luther explains how when Five first dropped into the apocalypse he found the bodies of the Hargreeves’. 

It’s no great surprise to Eudora, that they all died. It’s the apocalypse after all; the end of everything and everyone. Though it does make her reconsider Five. To see that at 13? How much have these siblings suffered through with the general public completely unaware?

While said siblings debate the logistics of it all, Eudora turns from where she’s now seated to face the approaching sound of footsteps. 

“uh, Diego?” she says as a put together man and short woman enter together. Could this be the other sister she’s heard of? She keeps the newcomers a once over and the others turn to them. The woman appears timid, her clothing plain and modest. The man looks similar in a way, there’s just something off about him Eudora can’t quite pin. He has a certain… look to him. Nothing explicitly showing in his physical features, but all the same so wouldn’t find herself leaping to trust him. 

Allison is first to greet them, a mildly surprised “Vanya!” escaping her. 

“Hey guys,” Vanya returns, before looking to her companion. “this is Leonard,” she introduces. The man smiles awkwardly, raising his hand in a mini wave of greeting. 

At this point, Eudora notices Klaus in the corner of her eye, she glances at him. His head is tilted to the side a little, eyebrows knitted together, his lips are parted slightly, staring intensely at something. Eudora follows his line of sight to Leonard. No… not Leonard, just to the empty air beside him on his free side. 

Eudora frowns. Can he see something? It’s then that she recalls again his power. Is Ben here with them right now? Is that what, who, he sees? She wonders now if he was in Vietnam. Can ghosts time travel? Likely not. 10 months, she thinks. If Ben has been beside him since he died, he must have missed him. 

Shouldn’t Klaus be glad? Eudora would expect relief, awe, joy; Klaus’ face only expresses confusion and concern. She sees again him holding his dog tags; she wonders if it’s soothing to him.

So, when Klaus breaks his silence, it catches everyone in the room off-guard. Most people present are used to him seemingly talking to the air every so often, but what he says now is a serious cause for concern.

Unprompted and expected, he inquires to the air, “Oh? Not Leonard? So what’s his real name, pray tell?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was doing some research on Vietnam earlier, apparently one of the worst weeks for the USA in the whole war happened in '68? how could they do that to us, damn. 
> 
> Do y'all ever think about Dave smiling and cry tears of joy? cos same.   
> also, please excuse me, i have some awful time blindness and haven't a clue if the timings of events are quite accurate. 
> 
> Next chapter: shit goes down and Five returns! 
> 
> Thank you for reading! :)


	4. We hope your rules and wisdom choke you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get in losers, we're going to find a corpse!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this one so I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Chapter title from Exit Music (For a Film) by Radiohead

“Klaus-“ Diego starts.

From all eye’s on Klaus, everyone curiously turns to look at each other, mostly at Leonard. Leonard however looks only at Klaus. Past the confusion, Eudora can’t miss the slight fear in his eyes.

“shush, Diego,” Klaus holds his finger out to him without looking his way.

“Vanya, have you heard the name Harold Jenkins before, by any chance?” he continues.

Eudora looks from Klaus to not-Leonard, his eyes now wide as he gulps and cautiously examines his surroundings. 

“what are you… what are you talking about?” his voice wavers as he speaks. 

Klaus hisses sharply, eyes fixed on nothing. “that is a gnarly wound. Blunt force trauma huh? Christ on a cracker!”

He turns to Leonard, Harold, as he exclaims “you hit your dad on the head with a hammer? God!”

He looks between Vanya and Harold, “hey, get away from my sister, murderer!” he accuses before stepping forward and pulling Vanya protectively towards himself.

Luther stares him down, “Klaus, what the hell are you talking about?”

“We have some ghostie visitors gathered here today. Not you,” he murmurs to his right. “Harold here’s daddy dearest is very angry still that his own son brutally killed him,” Klaus explains, judgement in his voice.

“Leonard?” Vanya weakly demands, horrified.

Allison squints her eyes, looking at Klaus, “I thought you couldn’t conjure anyone?”

“For the last time, I’m soberrrr!” he expresses, exasperated. 

Harold uses this to attempt to turn it around, letting out “you’re crazy, what are you-“ 

Klaus interrupts “Shush shush, the lady is talking,” he points a finger to the air just beyond Harold. 

“oh? You don’t say? Vanya,” he turns to her, “you know a Helen? Helen Cho? Is that right?” she turns back to the air.

Vanya looks around cautiously in disbelief, “she’s first chair at my orchestra... Why-“ 

Klaus inhales deeply, sympathy in his sunken eyes as he reveals “Sorry Van, it appears your new hubby killed your chair.”

Vanya looks faint, pale skin growing paler. Allison takes the initiative to step beside her, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders which Vanya surprisingly accepts.  
Eudora steps in “is there any proof?”

“proof? Victims are right here, detective,” Klaus states simply.

“So you see, but is there physical evidence?” Eudora tries, if she tries to arrest and charge him, she’ll need justification.

Klaus, still observing the air waits a few moments before sharing, “ah. Chair lady’s in his attic. Jesus, you’re not a good host, are you?” he addresses Harold with expected lightness.

Harold starts stalking backwards, lightly shaking his head “wait-“

Harold breaks out into a run just when Eudora flashes her badge, she’s in pursuit for mere seconds before she’s kicking his legs out from beneath him and cuffing him with the cuffs she always keeps on hand. You can never be too careful. He pathetically flails beneath her. 

As if this couldn’t get any weirder, Eudora hears a sort of electric buzz sound followed by the loud thud of something heavy crashing behind her. She swiftly turns her head to see, of all people, Five, splayed out of the bar, arms wrapped around a briefcase near identical to the one from the motel. More time travel, then. Just wonderful.

Allison reacts first, releasing a high pitched “Jesus!”

Luther manages to compose himself enough to wonder aloud “Five, where have you been?”

The teen in question pushes himself off the bar, dropping to the floor and brushing dust and possible ash from his school boy shorts. His hair is a fluffy mess on his head, but this is clearly the least of his concerns. He examines his siblings faces with calculating eyes as he speaks “I’ve come back with a lead,” he holds up a folded piece of yellowed paper as though it were a skull in Hamlet. “I know who’s responsible for the apocalypse,” he states.

Eudora looks down at Harold’s writhing form, interjecting “yeah, we have another situation here.”

Five considers the man, his confusion and curiosity blending, “who’s that?”

Klaus, having seated himself once more, leg bouncing up and down, informs simply “Vanya’s boyfriend the murderer. Harold.”

 

Five’s head snaps to him, eye wide, “wait…Jenkins?”  
“…yeah?” Klaus responses, head perking up.

Five releases a deep sigh as he crumbles up the paper in his hands, “Well, that was easier than I thought,” He admits.

 

444444444444444444444444444444444444

Five, Luther and Allison stay with Vanya, asking about Harold and doing their best to comfort her; Which may prove a challenge as most of them seem so emotionally stunted. 

Eudora opens her car door after taking Harold into the station. As she does, Diego turns from his place in the passenger seat to see Klaus, situated on the right back seat, who fiddles with his dog tags.

Diego makes sure “you sure you got the right address?”

“Yeah. Lives in his dad’s house still. The old guy knows his own address, Diego.” Klaus states matter-of-factly, shaking his head softly.

“Are they… still here?” he cautiously inquires. 

“Pfft, nah. Some mostly spend their after-life stalking their killers.” Klaus explains.

“And if they don’t?” Eudora wonders, starting the car.

“They think I can help them. Never shut the fuck up. It’s a wonder my ear drums were never constantly burst,” he explains with a certain light monotony to his voice, after he this is a reoccurring conversation.

“What do they look like?” Diego’s power is reasonably simple to understand and observe, so for Eudora, it’s not every day you get to interrogate someone who can actually see dead people. 

“Ugh. Revolting, most of the time, absolutely harrowing if they were murdered. Blood and guts everywhere. Thank Christ I can’t smell them,” He sighs.

“And… Ben?” Eudora knows this is a likely touchy subject for them, so she glances at Diego for a reaction. He looks contemplative, with an old curiosity he has never inquired about. Perhaps he was too fearful of the answer.

“Oh, he’s quite pleasant. Doesn’t scream at me all the time and looks as he did in life,” Klaus beams.

“He’s here?” Eudora prompts.

Klaus looks to his right, a soft smile on his face, “always.”

“Tell him I miss him,” Diego asks tenderly, looking at the empty space where Ben must be.

“Ha! He can hear you, dumbass,” Klaus emphasises.

“oh, right,” Diego concludes, softly.

Eudora wonders then how much the siblings even understand about each others powers; or Klaus’ at least. Super strength can be comprehended with ease, everyone has strength, Luther’s is just enhanced past the ordinary. Even without quite understanding how they work, Diego and Ben’s powers are still observable, easily measured and imagined. Even mind control and temporal and spatial travel happen as expected.

But the ability to perceive what no one can? All we know it’s what we’re told, even that becomes subjective. Eudora has read plenty about people who experience hallucinations, the likes of psychosis and schizophrenia represented in articles, documentaries, their stories told through fictional characters. To see and hear what isn’t there. People think they can imagine it, but can they? But it isn’t real, it appears at some point in life. Sometimes it goes, sometimes anti-psychotics can leave people functioning normally. But Klaus? What he sees is real, the ghosts and their stories and deaths. Actual people who have lived lives, who now cease to be. And he has no choice, he’s presumably seen them his whole life. Jesus. Eudora has a two-year-old nephew, and it pains her to imagine how he would cope with that ability. People die everywhere, everyday. Eudora knows this. All the dark and not parts of this city is full of crime and death. More than people would like to think. And to be constantly bombarded with that knowledge? That gore and horror? Against his will and without choice? Can anyone but him every truly understand what it’s like?

4444444444444444444444444444444444444

“this is the right house?” Eudora double checks. 

“yeah, yeah must be,” Klaus confirms.

They get out of the car, Klaus using a little too much force to close, more like slam, the door closed. 

From the brief and occasional stories Diego told Eudora of their childhood, Klaus was always the loudest, the least inhibited. She guesses some things never change.  
They’ve made it to the door as Diego suggests “so here’s the plan, I’ll jump through this window to let us in-“

As he continues spieling his fool proof plan, Eudora reaches for the door knob and twists. It clicks and the door swings open with ease.  
“huh,” Diego stares into the house, defeated.

Eudora smiles at him, “you always were a genius, Diego.”

He looks at her, eyebrows raised, smirk gracing his lips.

“Jesus, you two, get a room!” Klaus exclaims, parting them as he strides into the house.

She thinks she just catches him mutter “goddamn heteros” to no one in particular.

Eudora has to admit, she missed Diego. He makes her feel like a teenager again, as though they can have a laugh and everything will be okay in the end. Maybe, when this is all over, it wouldn’t be so bad to get together sometime. 

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Eudora, the only actual cop here, ascends the attic steps first, shortly followed by Diego the Klaus. Once in the reasonably sized poorly lit space, they’re lucky enough that they don’t have to search for anything damning. Before them in a grand display is what Klaus near accurately describes as a “murder shrine.” 

Plastered all over the door of small wardrobe are poster. Of the Hargreeves siblings. With their eyes violently scratched out. Previously, the motives of Harold Jenkins were unknown, but know, there’s striking evidence of some kind of personal vendetta against them. For what? Eudora wonders. They were young superheroes. The media and children alike were fascinated and in love with all of them. 

Just as Eudora, without touching, examines the melted off heads of the academy figurines on the supporting shelfing unit, Klaus exclaims “oh god!” before greeting “hello there, Helen.”

Diego moves to crouch beside Klaus, situated at the far end of the room where a rolled up blue tarp lies in the shadows. “you sure this is her?” he inquires, moving the edge of the tarp to the side with his fingertips. So, when still approaching, Eudora can just see a very human face peeking out.

“yup. That’s unfortunate for her,” Klaus confirms. 

Then it occurs to Eudora how useful Klaus could actually be to police. Earlier she compared him to those who experience hallucination, but that’s undermining, she supposes. What Klaus sees is real. Real dead people, real murder victims. Putting his mind to it he could help find bodies and killers, motives and methods. 

It would give him a job and thus a home, and food, without the need for drugs to block his powers. He doesn’t have to live like this. With her help and recommendation, who knows.

Eudora turns back around. Pulling her phone from her pocket to call it in as she spies a small desk tucked into the corner of the attic. As she steps a little closer, Diego and Klaus still distracted by Helen, she recognises the single item on top to be a book of sorts. Curiously, she creeps forward. The book, or more of a notebook, is red, leather bound, with the golden letters ‘RH’ in its centre. She flips it open. On the inside cover, block text reads ‘EX LIBRIS, REGINALD HARGREEVES’.

“guys, you might wanna see this…” she calls.

Diego strides forwards, picking up the book before skimming through it. Eudora sees Klaus, leaning against the wall, eyebrows knitted in curiosity and fingers twiddling his wavy hair.

As they do so, Eudora rushes the call, “we found the body. Sending address now.”

Diego pauses on a page of neat, near illegible cursive. He mutters what he reads to himself, then his head shoots up, eyes wide as he looks from Eudora to Klaus.

“this is dad’s,” he gradually explains, “did you know Vanya has powers?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 things: Eudora Patch is 90% of Diego's impulse control  
> & Klaus has ADHD and no one can change my mind
> 
> Crying tutorial: listen to Soul Kitchen by The Doors followed by Mary by Big Thief. That'll do the trick. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! more talk of Dave to come :) 
> 
> -Astrid


	5. Tender we fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> our favourite trio makes their way back to the academy, solutions are suggested.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from the song Basic Instinct by The Acid
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading!

Eudora, Diego and Klaus are piled back in her car, heading back to the academy to tell the others about the new revelations. 

Diego and Klaus keep up a conversation,  
“So, what actually is her power?” Klaus wonders leaning forward from the back seat to better hear Diego. 

Diego looks down at their dad’s notebook, clutched in his hands as he guesses “something to do with converting sound into energy?” he looks up at him, “how did we not know about this?”

“He hid so much from us,” Klaus responds, voice full of defeat and despairing belief. 

It’s clear to Eudora that unlike the general public’s view of him, they don’t think very highly of their father. In the few interviews and tv appearances she had seen, he was cold and serious, always gushing more over the powers than his actual children themselves. It’s no surprise to her, now knowing all the siblings, that Reginald Hargreeves was an emotionally distant dictator of a father, so she feels no sympathy for his demise. 

“Do you think Vanya knows?” Eudora interjects.

From what she knows, Vanya is timid and sensitive, but she also had the guts to write a book about how much it sucked growing up ordinary in that family. Eudora found the book a spiteful invasion of privacy that is accusatory and full of blame on her siblings. She wrote as if they were teamed up with Sir Reggie himself to deliberately isolate and belittle her. Eudora of course never admitted to Diego she read the book, but her sister was talking her ear off about its hateful undertones. 

There was also plenty of emphasis on how boringly plain and ordinary and not-special she was. Eudora recons she just answers her own question. 

“If she knew wouldn’t she insist on joining us? On proving herself?” Diego wonders.

“So… how is it possible that she doesn’t know? You think those pills mess with her memory or something?”

This catches Eudora immediately, perking her head up to look at Klaus through the mirror, “what pills?” she queries cautiously.

Diego looks rapidly from her to Klaus as he uncertainly asks “what does she take them for again?”

“I don’t- wait- you don’t think…?” Klaus prompts.

“These pills might, I don’t know, inhibit her powers?” Eudora suggests.

Diego inputs “that’s a good of a guess as any”

“Well either way we’ll need to ask her about it,” Eudora states.

They sit in silence for a minute or two, and Eudora catches Diego glancing at Klaus every so often. 

Klaus clearly picks up on this too as he requests “look Diego, what even you want to say to me, just get it over with and quit your brooding.”

“it’s just…” Diego twists his body to inspect him, “you look different. You really sober?”

Klaus places a spread out hand over his chest, gasping in mock offense, “clean as a whistle, mein dear bruder. Sure, it’s not easy but… there’s someone I need to see,” his lips point down at the corners as he breaks eye contact.

The image of Klaus’ bloody, sobbing form flashes to Eudora’s mind. Whoever’s blood that was, they’re probably dead. A lover perhaps? How he could possibly have met someone in the war, she doesn’t know. Then, she thinks of what she knows about Klaus. Of course, she thinks. There had to have been at least a handful of gay soldiers. 

Diego looks sceptical, but he moves on to a different matter, “and those dog tags you got there? Where we were you the other night?” He takes a pause before admitting “I was worried.”

“oh?” Klaus seems genuinely mildly surprised, “about little old me?”

“Klaus-“

“Fineee. When Detective-“

“you can call me Eudora” she interrupts, shocking everyone in the car, herself included, but Klaus smiles with ease.

“Eudora,” Klaus emphasises “saved me from the masked psychos, but I stole their briefcase. It, I don’t know, it teleported me to 1968, in the A Shau Valley in the mountain of the crouching beast.”

Diego studies him, a mix of confusion and realisation evident in his features. 

“And, well, I lost someone. The only person I’ve ever truly loved more than myself,” Klaus admits.

All Eudora can hear inside her head is Klaus’ agonised wailing, his stuttering breath, the pure pain and defeat in his voice. She can barely imagine losing someone like that, to hold them as they die and have their blood stain your hands. She wonders, for a moment, how she’d feel if Diego died. 

 

Eudora questions “what was he called?” in perfect unison with Diego’s “what was her name?”

Ah, Diego. Sweet, innocent, naïve Diego. 

Klaus tenderly holds the dog tags, closing his eyes. It then occurs to Eudora that maybe they weren’t his own. 

He takes in a deep breath before softly saying “HIS name was Dave. We soldiered together, Vietnam.”

Eudora can’t feeling a little surprised, but glad, that Diego doesn’t comment on the gender of his lover, him only commenting “well Dave must have been a very special person…”  
Aw, thinks Eudora, how sweet, he’s handling it well. 

Then he continues “to put up with all your weird-ass shit.”

Not the highest of complements, but brothers will be brothers.

Klaus, however, snorts in response, chuckling, “ yeah, he was, before elaborating, “he was kind, and strong, and vulnerable, and, ” he describes before taking a breath and closing his eyes once more, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he finishes “beautiful. Beautiful,” and in his voice is all the awe of someone seeing something the first time, overwhelmed with amazement and glee.

“And I was foolish enough to follow him all the way to the front line!” he exclaims. 

Diego attempts to stare into his soul wondering “you fought in the shit?”

For child superheroes, Eudora would have guessed Diego think of Klaus as braver and skilled than his question implies.

“oh yeah, baby. We were right there when he…” Klaus looks down at the dog tags, Dave’s, letting out a sigh before finishing, “when he died in my arms.”  
Diego’s lips part slightly as he awkwardly averts his gaze. 

Eudora steps in with “I’m sorry you lost him”

“at least when you lose someone you get to see them whenever you want,” Diego adds and it takes everything in Eudora not to glare at him. It’s a fresh wound, and from what she’s seen, Dave hasn’t made an appearance. 

Klaus luckily doesn’t seem to take it too hard, falling back into what’s becoming a pattern of indifference when it comes to his siblings’ understandings of him and his powers, “ah ha! I wish it were that simple. They tend to stay when and where they die, so at least Ben’s here,” he smiles to his side again.

“I need to specifically conjure Dave. Decades after his… well, I don’t even know if he passed on or not,” he concludes. Klaus has his head tilted down, but from the waver in his voice she can tell he’s crying. 

44444444444444444444444444444  
Re entering the house, they just catch the ends of a conversation in the kitchen. 

Five, clearly ending somethings says “so we keep an eye out, we still don’t know what originally caused the apocalypse so we just have to wait for the date to pass. Understood?”

Klaus, to no one’s surprise, is the first to respond, breezing through the entry way exclaiming “aye, aye, captain!”

They all sit around the table, mugs of coffee in hand and turn to face them as Eudora and Diego follow Klaus in.

Allison gets to the point first, asking “did you find the body?”

“Yeah,” Diego says shortly. 

Eudora informs “and unfortunately a lot more than that.”

“What do you mean,” Five stands.

To answer, Diego chucks the notebook onto the table, it landing in the centre with a thud. Luther, Allison, Vanya and Five all crowd round it. 

“is that dad’s?” Luther demands. 

“Yeah,” Diego explains, “ and according to dad,” he looks pointedly at Vanya, “our sister has powers.”

The room stands stock still for a moment before there’s a chorus of “what?” and “how”, all in disbelief. 

“hey!” Eudora yells over them, creating peace once more, “how about we do this rationally, hm?” 

“but I- can’t have powers, I’m just ordinary,” Vanya says more to herself than anyone else.

“It says here,” he points at the book, “its some sort of sound wave telekinesis. We theorise those pills dad had you on might’ve somehow inhibited you power, we-“

Just as Vanya shouts out a panicked “stop”, multiple light bulbs overhead burst simultaneously. 

“wow, hey” is almost a unanimous reaction as everyone turns to stare at Vanya.

“how did you-“ Eudora begins, probably the least understanding of the situation.

“I don’t know what’s happening!” Vanya cries. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Allison says automatically initiating motherly instincts as she places a gentle hand on Vanya’s back.

“But what about your meds?” five wonders.

“I- haven’t been taking them the past couple of days, I’ve felt- better,” she explains.

“It’s that rat Harold, he must have known all this, he had the book” Klaus states simplistically.

“So, what you’re saying is- this- Vanya’s power somehow causes the apocalypse?” Five inquires, looking between everyone. 

Klaus shrugs, clueless. Eudora can feel the tension in the air. They appear to be at an impasse. Vanya looks mortified, looking at her siblings as if begging for mercy. Luther looks contemplatively at her, as if calculating a move, or worst-case scenario, an attack. Eudora can’t stand for this getting any worse, so she makes the decision to defuse the situation.  
“but hey, she didn’t know about her powers,” she addresses Vanya, “I bet you don’t know how to control it, right?”

Vanya nods timidly before Eudora continues “okay, well as we all know now, surely you guys can help her learnt how to control it, she wouldn’t just intentionally destroy the world.”

They look around each other in silence before Klaus adds “of course! She’s going to be struggling with this new power, I mean it must be scary, terrifying, really, to discover that you can do something that you never thought you could do,” he looks at Vanya and she looks back at him, relief evident in her face.

“Yeah, I think we could do that,” Five confirms. 

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Later, most of the siblings are doing their own thing around the house. Allison had taken Vanya to her room for some ‘girl time’ to calm down, and Luther and Five were probably off somewhere separately sulking. Diego, still in the kitchen, places a hot mug in front of Eudora and sits down opposite her with his own. 

“Hey, where’d Klaus go?” he asks her, taking a sip.

“Said he was gunna take a nap,” she explains.

“Of course he is” Diego says, as if it’s a typically Klaus move.

If she’s completely honest, Eudora has no idea what she’s still doing here, but she felt almost obligated to help out this obviously dysfunctional family. Besides, despite all the high levels of tension lately, she feels like she really did miss Diego, as though she cast him aside too quickly, just focusing on the negatives.

She’d even found herself invested in Klaus, he was clearly seen by most a a little annoying at first, but hell if he ain’t amusing. Under all his happy go lucky energy and humour, he’s loveable and empathetic. She wonders if anyone’s ever told him that, because after all she sees right through him to his low self-esteem. 

“Thank you for that,” Diego breaks the silence, “I have no idea how that would’ve gone without you there.”

Eudora smiles, softly shaking her head at him, “it’s what I do,” she states. 

“It’s getting late. You can stay here for tonight if you like,” Diego offers, and she realises it’s what she was waiting for. 

“Thank you”, she says, “really.”

They both stand after finishing their coffee, and Eudora follows Diego up the stairs as he leads her to one of the many guest rooms. 

As they advance down the corridor of their childhood bedrooms, Eudora backtracks at hearing a muffled sound from on of the rooms. She steps backwards, peeking through the ajar wooden door in front of her. 

There, curled up on the bed, is Klaus, rocking slightly, softly crying to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all don't realise how badly i wanted to replicate "I can't be a wizard! I'm Harry, just Harry!" which proves only that I'm a certified nerd. 
> 
> me: *writing this chapter*
> 
> my mum, entering the room: how's the exam revision going?
> 
> me: *awkward thumbs up*
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me! last chapter next. (don't worry, i'm sure i'll be back with more TUA fics after exams)
> 
> -Astrid


	6. Zenith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter lads, we have a wee resolution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoy this one! i didn't want to end it sad.

Eudora knocks softly on the door to warn Klaus of her presence. He promptly stops crying, but she can just hear him sniffling as he says a weak “come in.”

She gently pushes the door open to see Klaus, now sat up on his bed, facing away from her and towards the window.

She walks in and he turns to her footsteps, “oh,” he raises his right hand to her, the bold black ink on his palm reading ‘HELLO’. Well, Eudora thinks, he is a human Ouija board.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure, Eudora?” he says as he picks a jumper off the floor, putting it over his head. He reaches into it, taking out Dave’s dog tags to fall visibly over his chest. 

“Just here to check you’re okay,” Eudora says truthfully.

He huffs out a tired laugh, “when have I ever been.”

“Maybe you should get some rest, ay?” Eudora suggests.

Klaus sighs, closing his eyes and clutching Dave’s dog tags, “they’re so loud,” he mutters.

Diego appears behind Eudora as he fills the door frame, “they’re here?” he inquires.

Ah. The ghosts. It’s still easy to forget they’re always there. He’s never alone, of course they don’t give him privacy, even when he needs it most. Eudora couldn’t imagine being constantly observed, senses constantly bombarded by the unrelenting dead. 

“They’re always so loud at night,” Klaus admits before flinching at something Eudora can’t perceive.

“Have you got some music that could drown them out?” she suggests.  
He shakes his head, sighing again, “I can’t find my headphones.”

Diego briskly makes his way away from the room, disappearing down the corridor; Eudora and Klaus both watch him go. Klaus looks up at Eudora, briefly flailing a hand while unconvincingly saying “I’ll be fine. I’m used to it.”

Klaus stands and stretches, not appearing to be going to sleep anytime soon. 

“Do you think Vanya will be okay?” Eudora asks solemnly, changing the subject. 

“I hope so, he says, “she always was so quiet i- it’s just a surprise you know?”

“I’m sure you’ll all figure it out,” Eudora reassures.

Just then, Diego re enters the room, throwing something in Klaus’ direction. He just manages to catch it in time, Christ on a cracker!” he yells before examining the object in hand. Headphones. 

Diego leans against the wall and simply nods to accept Klaus’ “danke.”

Klaus loops the headphones around his neck before saying, “god,” he flinches again, admitting “I just wanna be numb again.”  
Just then, a blue neon glow begins to form in front of Klaus, expanding into the figure of a man. Next a voice, male, ranting “I know what you’re thinking Klaus and don’t you dare! Look at where sobriety’s gotten you! What would Dave say-“

The 3 material people in the room all stand in completely silent disbelief, staring at the blue man.

Diego breaks the silence, exclaiming “Ben!?”

Ben? As in their brother? Their dead brother? Ben turns to look at Diego, eyes knitted together in confusion. He looks down at himself, holding his hands out to examine before looking up at Klaus, also confusion. 

“Klaus-“ he says, “your hands”

Everyone, Klaus included, tilt their heads down in comic unison to see his clenched fists glowing the same blue, “whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck” Klaus murmurs.

“Klaus they can see me!” Ben has the widest grin on his face as he says to Eudora and Diego “you can see me!” his gleeful voice almost makes him sound like a kid in a sweet stop. 

Diego, eyes full of bewilderment and hope, lets out a soft “Ben,” just as he blinks out of sight. 

Klaus raises his hands, no longer glowing and looks to the now empty space in front of him. 

“what was that?” Eudora wonders.

“I- I’ve never done that before” Klaus admits, still taken aback but with a small smile gracing his face.

So, it appears Vanya isn’t the only one who can do something she thought she couldn’t. If Klaus can do this while sober, she wonders what else he could do, maybe they all have unlocked powers. What ever Reginald was trying to train them in so hard clearly wasn’t fulfilling their potential. She has to question what likely un nurturing methods he used.

“So he’s really been with you this whole time?” Diego wonders.

“Ja, pretty much,” Klaus states simply.

Diego looks somehow devastated, perhaps realising he could’ve asked about him for years. 

“how about we all get some sleep?” Eudora suggests, “we can all talk in the morning.”

Both men nod, and the 3 of them part ways for the night.

444444444444444444444444444444444444444

In the morning, everyone gathers in the kitchen for a family meeting, and to her surprise, Eudora is accepted to stay without question, likely to act as a mediator of sorts. She looks over her steaming mug, across the table at Klaus. His eyes are still slightly bloodshot, the bags under them still a noticeable smudged grey, but thanks to Diego, he managed at least an hour or two of sleep last night.

Admittedly this isn’t as big as Vanya, but Klaus also made a discovery late last night,” Diego starts.

Five takes a sip of his coffee, “Meaning?”

“I uh, conjured Ben,” Klaus hesitantly explains.

“what? Ben?” Allison responds.

“I made him corporeal,” he adds.

Luther looks at Klaus, eyebrows knitted together not quite believing. The others appear to be contemplating. 

“We saw him,” Eudora furthers. 

“is he here?” Vanya wonders. 

“Yah but, I don’t exactly know how to, do the thing, on command, so-“ Klaus trails off, disappointed.

Five proposes “we can help you with it like we’re going to help Vanya.” 

Klaus nods eagerly before pausing, “there’s… someone I need to see,” he murmurs, standing up from his seat and swiftly exiting the room. 

And Eudora doesn’t know how, but she can understand who he means. 

Luther huffs out a “typical,” before everyone breaks off into their own conversations. Eudora turns to share a look with Diego. She wonders, if he can manifest others like that, the police wouldn’t be so hesitant to disregard his word. She always thought of their childhood crime fighting as unnecessary, them practically being vigilante’s. It was foolish to continue into adulthood after they’ve escaped the grasps of their father. But Klaus wouldn’t be in combat, he could be some kind of contract assistant. He could do good, make a genuine difference working in harmony with his powers. She explains all this to Diego. 

“I mean, yeah, worth a shot, huh?” he states.

“You think he’s be up for it?” she ponders. 

“He clearly hasn’t been okay lately. Honestly, I don’t know if he’s ever been,” he shakes his head slightly, “but this could be good for him.”

Eudora looks at the rest of Diego’s siblings. Allison talks sweetly to Vanya, who smiles softly at her sister. Five appears to be explaining something to a very confused Luther, all hand gestures and intense expressions as Luther stands still, attempting to make sense of his spiel.

They slip out of the room , unnoticed.

444444444444444444444444444444444444

Diego and Eudora look all around the house for Klaus, starting with his room. 

“Do you think he went out somewhere?” Eudora enquires.

“Don’t think so.”

“Are those all the room now?” Eudora asks, closing the door at the end of one of the houses many corridors.

“ah. There’s an attic?” Diego suggests. 

So, they climb the stairs up to the attic to tell Klaus about their idea. When they reach it, the room is cold and dark. Klaus sits in the centre of the floor, legs crossed. He faces away from them, sat in the complete silence of concentration. They approach cautiously as to not startle him.

Just as Eudora is about to ask if he’s had any luck, a sob escapes him and she can see his shoulders shaking, limbs suddenly animated.

“Oh my god!” Klaus cries, “Dave, it worked,” he stands up and steps forward, “hey,” he says softly, voice full of awe and tenderness. He reaches out, hands trembling, glowing bright blue like a beacon.

Just like earlier, when Ben appeared, a blue glow sparks to life before him, like a neutron star, exploding rather than imploding, before he’s even fully formed, Klaus is running into the man’s arms, clutching him as though he were a tree in a tsunami, sobbing tears of joy, of passion and vitality. The man, Dave, holds him back, absorbing Klaus’ warmth, his life force. He rubs circles into Klaus’ back, who presses his head into the crook of Dave’s neck. Both men cry freely, love radiating from them.

Eudora and Diego share a look, and she sees relief and hope for his brother in his eyes. 

“Klaus,” says Dave. But it sounds like ‘life’, ‘joy’, ‘content’, it sounds like ‘love’ and ‘pain’, it sounds like a word for all. He says it, and it’s all he needs to say. Klaus’ name encapsulates all, and a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realise the last part is basically me being a sucker for Klave, me being a linguistics and Shakespeare nerd, and mostly self healing, but hey. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this whole fic! It's been super fun to write and I am eternally grateful for everyone who's read, given kudos, commented and book marked! big love to all of you and i will be returning to Ao3 after exams to write more TUA stuff.
> 
> Thank you again and see you soon :)
> 
> -Astrid

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos much appreciated. Please do tell me if there are any inaccuracies, spelling mistakes or continuity errors. This was so fun.
> 
> Thank you!  
> \- Astrid


End file.
